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BO  STON : 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  BOARD, 

i  Somerset  Street. 

1886. 


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t 


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: 


T  .  .  A 

V 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


OF  THE 

Missions  of  the  American  Board 


PAPAL  LANDS. 


BO  STON  : 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  BOARD, 
i  Somerset  Street. 

1886. 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 

Inion  hecjoric: 


c 

wiounaff 


NEW  YORK  CITY 

Pa£S£ttT£D  BY 

J.  yu . 

r  NOV  1  2 1940 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 


Previous  to  1872  the  American  Board  had  no  mis¬ 
sion  among  the  nominally  Christian  population  of 
Papal  lands  in  either  Europe  or  America.  Other  or¬ 
ganizations —  especially  since  1850,  The  American  and 
Foreign  Christian  Union  —  had  been  prosecuting  such 
missions,  sustained  mainly  by  Congregational  and  Pres¬ 
byterian  churches.  It  would  be  a  mistake,  however,  to 
suppose  that  the  Board  had  never  contemplated  such 
labors.  See  Annual  Reports  for  1813  and  1823,  also 
the  report  made  by  Rev.  John  C.  Brigham  in  1826,  of 
his  tour  and  investigations  in  different  South  American 
States  and  in  Mexico. 

At  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Board  in  1871  a  me¬ 
morial  was  presented  from  a  “  Provisional  Committee 
of  Foreign  Evangelization. ”  This  memorial  stated  that, 
“  with  almost  entire  unanimity,  the  churches  which  con¬ 
tributed  to  the  treasury  of  the  Board  had  withdrawn 
from  the  American  and  Foreign  Christian  Union,  as 
their  agency  for  the  evangelization  of  nominally  Chris¬ 
tian  countries  that  “the  Congregational  bodies  rep¬ 
resenting  the  churches  in  the  several  States,  almost 
simultaneously,  appointed  a  Provisional  Committee  to 
prosecute  the  work  ;  ”  at  the  same  time  insisting  that 
“  no  new  society  should  be  organized,”  but  that  “  the 
Provisional  Committee  should,  as  soon  as  possible, 


4 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 


transfer  its  trust  to  some  existing  society  ;  ”  and  that 
“the  general  voice  indicated  the  American  Board  as  the 
fittest  organization,  if  not  the  only  one,  for  this  pur¬ 
pose.” 

This  memorial  was  referred  to  a  special  committee 
of  seven,  who  reported,  after  careful  consideration, 
“  that  the  time  has  come  when  it  seems  to  be  the  duty 
of  this  Board  so  to  extend  its  work,  in  behalf  of  the 
nominally  Christian  people  of  the  earth,  as  to  include 
that  particular  department  of  missionary  effort  contem¬ 
plated  in  the  memorial.”  After  full  discussion,  the  re¬ 
port  was  accepted  and  adopted  ;  and  at  the  next  An¬ 
nual  Meeting,  in  1872,  the  Prudential  Committee  were 
able  to  report  missions  already  commenced  in  Spain, 
Austria,  and  Western  Mexico. 


THE  MISSION  TO  SPAIN. 


To  begin  a  mission  in  Spain,  the  Committee  secured 
the  services  of  Rev.  Luther  H.  Gulick,  M.  D.,  who  had 
had  an  experience  of  twenty  years  of  missionary  work, 
first  in  Micronesia  and  afterward  as  Secretary  of  the 
Hawaiian  Board  at  Honolulu.  His  brother,  Rev.  Will¬ 
iam  H.  Gulick,  who  had  become  somewhat  familiar 
with  the  Spanish  character  and  language  during  a 
sojourn  of  three  years  in  South  America,  was  associated 
with  him.  The  two  sailed  from  Boston,  with  their  wives, 
for  Liverpool  on  the  way  to  Spain,  December  19,  1871. 

The  population  of  Spain  in  i860  was  between  six¬ 
teen  and  seventeen  millions,  almost  wholly  Roman 
Catholic.  For  centuries  every  attempt  at  religious  re¬ 
form  had  been  sternly  suppressed,  even  the  secret  study 
of  the  Scriptures  exposing  the  offenders  to  severe  pun¬ 
ishment,  until  the  revolution  of  September,  1868,  intro¬ 
duced  a  new  era.  Then  Protestant  efforts  were  at  once 
commenced.  Within  a  few  months  persons  interested 
in  evangelical  movements  began  to  assemble  for  public 
worship  in  several  of  the  leading  cities  in  the  kingdom. 
Individuals,  and  organized  “committees”  in  Protestant 
lands,  entered  upon  earnest  efforts,  evangelists  and  col- 
porters  were  employed,  and  Bibles  and  tracts  distrib¬ 
uted,  often  with  happy  results,  though  bitter  opposition 
from  the  Romanist  priesthood  was  everywhere  encount- 


6 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 


ered.  When  the  Messrs.  Gulick  arrived  in  Spain,  such 
Protestant  efforts  were  already  in  progress,  aided  by  a 
Swiss  Committee  at  Geneva  and  by  funds  from  Great 
Britain,  Holland,  and  Germany,  the  latter  under  the 
special  supervision  of  Rev.  Mr.  Fliedner,  of  Kaiser- 
werth.  A  Baptist  church  had  been  organized  at 
Madrid  by  Rev.  Mr.  Knapp,  of  the  American  Baptist 
Union.  The  Religious  Tract  Society  of  London  had  a 
committee  organized  in  the  city,  and  an  active  agent  of 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  had  twenty-five 
colporters  at  work  in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom. 
There  were  also  some  independent  efforts  here  and 
there,  specially  by  the  Plymouth  Brethren.  The  early 
promise  of  results,  in  the  field' so  promptly  entered  by 
Protestants,  was  soon  clouded  by  the  disturbed  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  country  and  the  restrictions  imposed  by  an 
unfriendly  government. 

As  comparatively  little  had  been  done  by  other 
Protestant  agencies  in  the  northern  portion  of  Spain, 
the  attention  of  the  Board  was  turned  especially  to  that 
section.  Dr.  Gulick  fixed  upon  Barcelona  as  his  sta¬ 
tion,  and  began  residence  there  on  the  6th  of  March, 
1872.  Here  he  was  joined  a  few  months  after  by  Rev. 
Gustave  Alexy,  a  native  of  Hungary,  educated  at  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary  in  New  York  City;  but  in 
view  of  the  unsettled  condition  of  Spain  and  embar¬ 
rassments  to  successful  work  in  that  quarter,  Dr.  Gu¬ 
lick  was  transferred  to  Italy  in  July,  1873.  Mr.  Alexy, 
who  had  been  engaged  for  only  two  years,  returned  to 
the  United  States  in  the  spring  of  1874.  In  the  follow¬ 
ing  August  Mr.  William  H.  Gulick,  after  a  careful  ex¬ 
ploration  of  the  central  and  southern  portions  of  Spain, 
began  labor  at  Santander,  a  city  of  20,000  inhabitants, 


MISSION  TO  SPAIN. 


7 


on  the  northwest  coast.  A  Sabbath  service  was  begun 
in  October  at  his  own  house,  but  was  soon  after  trans¬ 
ferred  to  more  convenient  quarters.  Curiosity  led 
many  to  come  at  first,  and  by  the  last  of  January,  1873, 
Mr.  Gulick  reported  a  congregation  of  nearly  two  hun¬ 
dred.  This  soon  fell  off,  however,  to  forty  in  regular 
attendance,  among  whom  was  some  evidence  of  genu¬ 
ine  interest  in  the  gospel.  In  July  the  station  was  re¬ 
inforced  by  the  arrival  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  L. 
Gulick.  The  year  1874  was  one  of  quiet,  persistent 
labor,  in  spite  of  bitter  opposition  and  threats  of  vio¬ 
lence.  In  the  spring  of  1875  an  interesting  Protestant 
movement  was  developed  among  the  mountains  of  As¬ 
turias,  at  Allevia,  and  some  other  adjacent  villages. 
The  movement  in  this  quarter  was  practically  sup¬ 
pressed  a  year  or  two  later.  The  work,  however,  went 
on  steadily  at  Santander,  and  in  the  months  of  January 
and  February,  1876,  congregations  were  seldom  less 
than  from  ninety  to  one  hundred.  On  the  9th  of  April 
a  church  of  “  seventeen  steadfast  souls,”  the  “  First 
Evangelical  Church  of  Santander,”  was  formally  organ¬ 
ized.  By  August  the  number  of  church  members  had 
increased  to  forty. 

Mr.  T.  L.  Gulick,  suffering  from  ill  health  at  Santan¬ 
der,  after  examining  different  localities,  removed  in 
February,  1876,  to  Zaragoza,  about  two  hundred  miles 
to  the  southeast  from  Santander.  This  was  not  a 
wholly  new  field  for  Protestant  effort,  but  Mr.  Gulick’s 
going  there  was  cordially  concurred  in  by  other  agen¬ 
cies  laboring  in  Spain.  In  September  following  he  had 
the  pleasure  of  organizing  a  new  church,  with  seventy- 
five  members,  from  an  old  Protestant  body  and  twelve 
new  converts.  At  both  stations,  Santander  and  Zara- 


8 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 


goza,  the  missionaries  have  been  aided  by  native  preach¬ 
ers  who  had  received  their  education  in  Switzerland, 
also  by  two  young  ladies,  sisters,  who  had  been  edu¬ 
cated  abroad,  and  were  prepared  to  render  valuable  aid 
to  the  wives  of  the  missionaries.  A  girls’  school  at 
Santander,  in  charge  of  one  of  the  sisters,  was  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  an  excellent  seminary  for  young  women,  first 
established  at  Santander,  and  afterward  removed  to 
San  Sebastian. 

The  worst  foes  with  which  the  missionaries  have  had 
to  contend  are  sensuality,  indifference,  and  infidelity. 
The  cities  are  the  worst  in  this  respect,  and  their  moral 
degradation  is  one  of  the  heaviest  charges  that  can  be 
made  against  Romanism. 

Among  other  adverse  influences,  a  band  of  Catholic 
ladies  was  formed  early  in  the  history  of  the  mission, 
for  the  sake  of  watching  the  missionaries  and  counter¬ 
acting  their  work.  In  companies  of  two  and  three 
they  visited  the  people,  and  for  hours  at  a  time,  day 
after  day,  argued  with  them,  desiring  them  to  return  to 
the  Catholic  church.  When  arguments  and  entreaties 
failed,  they  resorted  to  bribes  and  threats ;  and  as  most 
of  the  Protestants  were  from  the  humbler  and  poorer 
classes,  dependent  largely  on  their  daily  labor,  demands 
were  made  on  the  employers  not  to  give  them  work. 
Sometimes  they  offered  clothing  for  the  children,  free 
schooling,  and  abundant  work  for  their  parents,  pro¬ 
vided  they  would  give  up  attendance  on  Protestant  ser¬ 
vices.  These  are  but  specimens  of  the  opposition  with 
which  the  missionaries  in  Spain  have  had  to  contend. 

In  the  meanwhile  an  interesting  work  was  begun  at 
Bilbao,  the  expenses  of  which  were  met  by  the  Evan¬ 
gelical  Continental  Society  of  London.  A  church  of 


THE  MISSION  TO  SPAIN. 


9 


thirty-eight  communicants  was  organized  there  on  the 
1 2th  of  April,  1879.  At  Pradejon  and  at  Pamplona  an 
interesting  work  was  begun  by  means  of  colporters. 

In  August,  1881,  Mrs.  William  H.  Gulick,  who  had 
been  on  a  visit  to  the  United  States,  returned,  accom¬ 
panied  by  Miss  Susie  F.  Richards.  As  Santander  was 
quite  at  one  side  of  the  mission,  it  seemed  better  that  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  William  H.  Gulick  and  Miss  Richards  should 
remove  to  San  Sebastian,  about  one  hundred  miles  east 
of  Santander,  as  a  more  central  position  for  the  school 
and  for  missionary  work  generally.  This  removal  was 
effected  in  November,  1881.  In  January,  1882,  Mr. 
Thomas  S.  Gulick  and  his  assistant  narrowly  escaped 
assassination  while  on  a  visit  to  Unzue,  a  little  village 
among  the  mountains  of  Navarre.  The  failure  of  the 
attempt  was  regarded  by  the  public  press  as  little  less 
than  miraculous,  and  though  very  little  was  done  by  the 
local  authorities  to  punish  the  aggressors,  the  public 
sentiment  did  not  sustain  such  attempts  to  restrain  the 
work  of  the  mission. 

The  field  of  the  mission  was  enlarged  during  the 
year  1882  by  assuming  work  which  had  been  carried 
on  in  the  province  of  Tara  by  the  Evangelical  Society 
of  Geneva.  Two  stations  had  been  in  charge  of  very 
efficient  Spanish  evangelists.  By  the  acceptance  of 
this  work  the  mission  of  the  Board  from  the  first  of 
January,  1883,  was  made  to  extend  from  Santander 
along  the  line  of  railway  to  the  Mediterranean. 

The  missionary  force  was  reduced  by  the  absence 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  L.  Gulick,  in  consequence  of 
the  impaired  health  of  Mr.  Gulick.  After  some  time 
spent  in  Switzerland,  in  the  hope  of  recovery,  he  re- 


10 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 


turned  to  the  United  States,  and  was  formally  released 
from  his  connection  with  the  Board. 

In  the  spring  of  1883  the  mission  was  visited  by 
Secretaries  Clark  and  Alden,  who  had  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  the  character  of  the  work  at  San  Sebastian, 
at  Pamplona,  and  Zaragoza.  In  the  Annual  Report  for 
that  year,  Mr.  Gulick  reported  two  stations,  eight  out- 
stations  at  which  the  gospel  was  regularly  preached,  and 
four  churches,  with  three  hundred  and  ten  communi¬ 
cants.  The  girls’  school  at  San  Sebastian  had  been 
making  steady  progress.  At  the  close  of  the  year  a 
large  and  convenient  building  was  secured  for  the  insti¬ 
tution,  and  twenty-two  boarding  pupils  were  in  attend¬ 
ance.  This  is  the  only  school  of  high  grade  for  the 
evangelical  culture  and  training  of  young  women  in 
Spain.  The  year  1885  witnessed  the  steady  enlarge¬ 
ment  of  schools  and  congregations,  wider  general  inter¬ 
est,  and  cordial  relations  between  missionaries  and 
native  workers  throughout  the  entire  field.  The  girls’ 
school  at  San  Sebastian  had  an  attendance  of  sixty-four 
pupils.  This  institution  has  done  much  to  allay  preju¬ 
dice  against  evangelical  efforts,  by  showing  the  worth  of 
good  and  wise  Christian  training  for  young  women. 

The  event  of  the  year  1885  was  a  general  confer¬ 
ence  held  during  the  first  week  in  August  with  native 
pastors,  teachers,  and  representatives  of  evangelical 
communities.  An  advance  step  was  there  taken  toward 
enlisting  the  native  communities  in  vigorous  efforts  for 
the  support  of  their  own  institutions. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  work  in  Spain  has  been 
making  steady  progress  despite  all  opposition,  and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  will  constitute  a  most  important  agency  in 
the  spiritual  enlightenment  of  this  country. 


THE  MISSION  TO  ITALY. 


When  the  Board  decided  to  enter  anew  upon  mis¬ 
sionary  effort  in  Papal  lands,  Italy  was  one  of  the 
fields  to  which  the  attention  of  the  Prudential  Commit¬ 
tee  was  first  directed.  The  withdrawal  of  the  American 
and  Foreign  Christian  Union,  and  an  earnest  invitation 
from  the  Free  Church  of  Italy  to  aid  evangelistic  opera¬ 
tions  which  had  been  developed  and  sustained  by  the 
Union,  led  to  an  attempt  to  establish  a  mission  in  that 
country.  Dr.  Gulick  was  transferred  from  Spain  to 
this  field,  in  the  conviction  that  his  large  missionary 
experience  and  practical  wisdom  would  be  of  special 
value  there.  Rev.  W.  S.  Alexander  was  designated  to 
Italy,  and  in  view  of  the  special  difficulties  of  the  field, 
Rev.  H.  N.  Barnum,  d.d.,  of  the  Eastern  Turkey  Mis¬ 
sion,  who  was  about  returning  to  the  East,  was  requested 
to  visit  Italy  on  his  way,  and  to  confer  with  the  evan¬ 
gelical  workers  there;  but  the  difficulties  were  found 
to  be  of  such  a  nature  as  to  lead  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  was  not  best  for  the  Board  to  attempt  permanent 
work  there.  In  the  Annual  Report  for  1874  the  case 
was  summed  up  as  follows  : 

“  Briefly,  then,  it  is  in  view  of  the  limited  amount 
of  means  and  the  limited  number  of  men  that  the 
churches  enable  the  Board  to  employ  in  the  work  in 
nominally  Christian  lands,  and  the  importance  of  ex- 


12 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 


pending  these  means  and  locating  these  men  where 
providential  leadings  seem  to  present  the  greatest  prom¬ 
ise  of  success  ;  in  view  of  the  many  other  evangelical 
agencies  at  work  in  Italy  and  the  difficulty  of  finding 
a  clear  field  for  our  methods  of  labor  ;  in  view  of  the 
danger  of  unpleasant  and  undesirable  interference  with 
or  interference  from  the  work  of  others  ;  and  in  view 
of  the  expensiveness  of  work  in  Italy,  growing  out  of 
the  habits  of  the  people  as  to  self-support,  and  the 
readiness  of  others  to  furnish  means,  that  the  Pruden¬ 
tial  Committee  deem  it  expedient  to  suspend  their 
operations  in  that  field.”  After  some  discussion,  the 
Board  concurred  in  this  view,  and  adopted  a  resolu¬ 
tion,  without  dissent,  suspending  the  mission  to  Italy. 


MISSIONS  TO  MEXICO. 


The  Republic  of  Mexico  comprises  twenty-seven 
States  and  one  territory,  having  an  area  of  751,177 
square  miles,  and  a  population,  at  the  last  census,  of 
10,007,000.  About  one  third  of  these  are  Indians. 
The  religion  is  nominally  Roman  Catholic,  but  there 
is  among  the  better  educated  classes  much  of  indiffer¬ 
ence  and  of  skepticism,  and  among  the  lower  classes 
a  sad  amount  of  ignorance  and  superstition.  In  i860 
religious  liberty  was  proclaimed,  and  the  way  was  thus 
opened,  as  it  had  not  been  before,  for  Protestant 
efforts,  which  were  soon  commenced  by  different  indi¬ 
viduals  and  by  some  missionary  boards,  specially  the 
Methodist  and  the  Presbyterian.  When  the  American 
Board  entered  upon  work  in  Papal  lands,  Mexico  was 
among  the  fields  to  which  attention  was  soon  drawn. 
Miss  Melinda  Rankin  proposed  to  transfer  to  the  care  of 
the  Board  a  work  of  much  apparent  promise  which  she 
had  been  for  some  years  conducting,  with  its  center  at 
Monterey  in  the  State  of  New  Leon.  Also  two  young 
men  just  graduated  from  the  Pacific  Theological  Semi¬ 
nary,  Rev.  J.  L.  Stephens  and  Rev.  David  F.  Watkins, 
offered  their  services  for  a  mission  in  Western  Mexico. 

NORTHERN  MEXICO  MISSION. 

The  work  and  the  property  at  Monterey  were  trans¬ 
ferred  by  Miss  Rankin  to  the  Board  in  1873,  but  the 


I4 


MISSIONS  TO  PAPAL  LANDS. 


hopes  entertained  respecting  a  mission  in  that  quarter 
were  not  realized.  The  field,  when  it  came  under  the 
care  of  the  Board,  was  occupied  by  one  missionary 
only,  Rev.  John  Beveridge,  with  the  aid  of  native  evan¬ 
gelists  and  colporters.  In  January,  1874,  Rev.  E.  P. 
Herrick  and  wife  and  Miss  Caroline  M.  Strong  joined 
the  mission,  and  in  March  following,  Rev.  J.  K  Kil- 
bourn.  It  was  soon  found,  however,  that  the  character 
of  the  native  helpers  employed,  the  condition  of  the 
schools  and  church  J,at  Monterey,  as  well  as  that  of 
other  churches  connected  with  the  mission,  were  not 
satisfactory,  and  there  was  not  entire  agreement  among 
the  missionaries  as  to  the  policy  to  be  pursued.  As 
a  result,  in  1875  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herrick  and  Mr.  Bev¬ 
eridge  left  the  field,  and  were  honorably  dismissed 
from  their  connection  with  the  Board.  Mr.  Kilbourn 
and  Miss  Strong  by  persistent  effort  brought  the 
different  departments  of  the  work  into  a  more  hopeful 
state,  while  earnestly  calling  for  much  needed  associ¬ 
ates.  The  field  was  small  and  unattractive,  and  when, 
in  September,  1877,  Miss  Strong  was  obliged  to  re¬ 
tire  from  her  work,  in  consequence  of  long  continued 
ill  health,  it  seemed  best  to  transfer  the  mission  to 
the  Presbyterian  Board,  which  had  a  mission  in  the 
vicinity  and  could  readily '•superintend  the  work  at 
Monterey  also. 

NORTHERN  MEXICO  MISSION-CHIHUAHUA. 

In  1882  the  attention  of  the  Board  was  turned  to 
the  importance  of  establishing  a  mission  in  Western 
Mexico,  on  the  line  of  the  Mexican  Central  railway, 
extending  from  El  Paso,  on  the  border  of  Western 
Texas,  to  the  city  of  Mexico.  Chihuahua,  a  city  of 


MISSIONS  TO  MEXICO. 


1S 


about  20,000  inhabitants,  the  capital  of  the  State  of 
that  name,  on  the  line  of  this  railway,  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles  to  the  south  of  El  Paso,  and  three 
days  by  rail  from  St.  Louis,  was  selected  as  the  central 
station  of  the  new  mission. 

Rev.  James  D.  Eaton,  after  a  few  weeks  spent  in 
the  examination  of  the  field  during  the  months  of 
April  and  May,  removed  to  Chihuahua  with  his  family 
in  November  of  1882,  and  began  religious  services  in 
English  on  the  24th  of  the  following  month,  with 
special  reference  to  American  residents,  who  kindly 
aided  in  fitting  up  a  place  of  worship.  In  June,  1883, 
Mr.  Eaton  began  preaching  in  Spanish,  with  many 
indications  of  interest  on  the  part  of  the  people. 

In  April,  1884,  the  mission  was  reinforced  by  the 
arrival  of  Rev.  George  A.  Dutton,  and  in  October  by 
the  coming  of  Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alden  B.  Case. 
Mr.  Dutton  remained  at  Chihuahua  to  assist  Mr. 
Eaton,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Case  took  up  their  abode  at 
Parral,  a  city  second  in  importance  to  Chihuahua,  with 
a  population  of  10,000  to  12,000,  and  distant  150  miles 
by  rail,  and  60  more  by  stage,  from  Chihuahua.  Six 
months  after  his  arrival,  Mr.  Case  wrote,  “We  find  the 
work  growing  upon  our  hands  and  upon  our  hearts  in 
a  way  we  had  not  dreamed.  Instead  of  one  service 
each  Sabbath  for  the  Mexicans,  we  now  have  two,  and 
tomorrow  evening  we  are  to  hold  our  first  week-day 
meeting  for  prayer.  Crowds  continue  to  gather  at  our 
services,  many  listen  with  apparent  interest,  and 
nearly  always  there  are  some  who  remain  to  converse 
after  we  have  closed.” 

The  prospect  of  this  mission,  opening^so  favorably, 
was  clouded  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Dutton  in  June,  1885. 


1 6  MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 

Though  but  a  little  more  than  a  year  on  the  field,  he 
had  given  promise  of  success,  through  his  sincere 
Christian  character  and  devotion  to  his  work.  In  the 
Report  for  the  year  1885,  Mr.  Eaton  speaks  of  ten 
adults  as  baptized  on  profession  of  their  faith,  and 
notices  with  great  interest  the  earnest  self-denying 
spirit  shown  by  these  believers,  such  as  to  give  evi¬ 
dence  of  a  genuine  Christian  life.  The  work  of  this 
mission,  as  yet  in  its  beginning,  is  one  of  much  promise 
for  the  future. 

WESTERN  MEXICO  MISSION— GUADALAJARA. 

Messrs.  Stephens  and  Watkins,  the  young  men 
already  mentioned,  left  San  Francisco  in  October, 
1872,  and  reached  Guadalajara,  a  city  of  some  80,000 
inhabitants,  where  it  was  decided  to  begin  work,  on 
the  7th  of  November.  They  at  once  found  friends 
among  persons  of  influence,  and  were  greatly  encour¬ 
aged  by  the  interest  manifested  in  religious  conver¬ 
sation  and  religious  reading.  The  demand  for  the 
Scriptures  and  for  tracts  was  soon  quite  extensive, 
and  within  a  few  months  there  were  interesting  cases 
of  hopeful  conversion.  The  priests  and  their  fanatical 
followers  were  bitterly  hostile.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watkins 
were  stoned  in  the  street ;  but  this  conduct  found  no 
favor  with  the  governor  of  the  state  or  with  the  com¬ 
mander  of  the  Mexican  forces  located  at  Guadalajara. 

The  first  year  of  the  mission  was  encouraging.  In 
August,  1873,  the  brethren  reported  an  almost  entire 
cessation  of  abuse  by  Romanists,  while  marked  atten¬ 
tion  and  kindness  were  manifested  on  the  part  of  many 
of  the  people. 

In  November  of  that  year,  Mr.  Stephens  visited 


MISSIONS  TO  MEXICO. 


J7 


Ahualulco,  a  town  of  5,000  inhabitants  (of  whom  2,000 
were  Indians)  about  ninety  miles  from  Guadalajara. 
He  was  warmly  welcomed  by  many  ;  a  room  was  pro¬ 
vided  in  which  he  held  meetings  every  evening  ;  and 
for  several  days  there  was  no  disturbance. 

The  success  of  his  labors  for  about  three  months 
was  far  beyond  expectation,  and  he  seemed  to  have 
won  the  favor  of  a  large  portion  of  the  people  of 
Ahualulco.  But  this  success  infuriated  the  cura ,  and 
on  the  1st  of  March  he  preached  a  most  exciting 
sermon  to  the  Indians  there,  in  which  he  said,  “  It  is 
necessary  to  cut  down,  even  to  the  roots,  the  tree  that 
bears  bad  fruit.  You  may  interpret  these  words  as  you 
please.”  The  interpretation  was  such  as  he  probably 
desired,  as  indicated  in  the  report  of  a  Mexican  paper ; 
“  At  two  o’clock  A.M.  on  the  2d  of  March,  the  house  of 
Mr.  Stephens  was  assaulted  by  a  mob,  crying,  ‘  Long  live 
the  cura  ;  death  to  the  Protestants.’  They  forced  the 
doors  and  entered,  destroying  and  stealing  everything 
they  found.  Mr.  Stephens  was  brutally  assassinated, 
his  head  severed  into  several  parts,  and  his  body  very 
much  mutilated.” 

One  of  Mr.  Stephens’s  converts  was  killed,  some 
other  Protestants  were  violently  assaulted,  and  there 
were  at  least  attempts,  as  was  believed,  to  poison 
some.  For  a  time  Mr.  Watkins  and  others  felt  that 
they  were  in  great  danger,  though  the  Mexican  Presi¬ 
dent,  Lerdo,  declared  his  intention  to  do  all  he  could 
for  the  protection  of  the  missionaries  and  of  religious 
liberty,  and  to  secure  the  punishment  of  Mr.  Stephens’s 
murderers. 

In  these  trying  circumstances,  the  Rev.  G.  F.  G. 
Morgan,  a  classmate  of  Messrs.  Stephens  and  Watkins 


i8 


MISSIONS  TO  PAPAL  LANDS. 


in  the  Theological  Seminary,  was  led  to  offer  his  ser¬ 
vices,  and  reached  Guadalajara,  June  21,  1874.  A 
minister  in  Wales,  Rev.  John  Edwards,  was  also  ap¬ 
pointed  to  this  field.  Mr.  Morgan,  however,  did  not 
long  remain  in  Mexico,  but  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edwards 
arrived  in  April,  1875. 

The  assassination  of  Mr.  Stephens,  and  other 
evidences  of  hostility,  caused  much  fear  among  the 
people ;  many  were  prevented  from  attending  Mr.  Wat¬ 
kins’s  services,  and  the  schools  of  the  mission  were 
reduced  “  to  a  nominal  figure.”  Yet  in  August  follow¬ 
ing,  the  average  Sabbath  congregations  were  reported 
as  from  seventy-five  to  ninety  ;  there  was  much  interest 
in  the  study  of  the  Bible ;  some  believers  became 
active  in  efforts  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  truth; 
and  in  December,  1874,  fifty-six  adults  were  added  to 
the  church  at  Guadalajara,  many  of  them  from  Ahua- 
lulco. 

In  spite  of  opposition,  the  work  continued  to  make 
progress  till  in  August,  1876,  the  number  of  church  mem¬ 
bers  reported  was  one  hundred  and  fifty.  At  this  time, 
August,  1876,  ill  health  rendered  it  needful  for  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Watkins  to  leave  Mexico  for  a  season,  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Edwards  were  left  alone  for  two  years  and  a  half, 
with  varying  trials  and  successes.  In  August,  1877, 
Mr.  Edwards  reported  forty-five  additions  to  the 
church  during  the  previous  year,  though  several  mem¬ 
bers  had  been  cut  off  as  unworthy.  The  whole  num¬ 
ber  of  members  at  that  time  was  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five.  Opposition  and  persecution  were  still 
continued. 

Details  are  given  respecting  one  case  of  the  delib¬ 
erate  murder  of  a  Protestant,  and  Mr.  Edwards  wrote  : 


MISSIONS  TO  MEXICO. 


I9 


“  I  could  mention  many  more  cases  of  suffering  and 
trial  for  the  cause  of  Christ ;  such  as  many  losing  their 
employment,  driven  from  their  houses,  looked  upon  as 
the  filth  of  the  earth  and  the  offscouring  of  all  things 
by  their  own  families  ;  and,  in  the  pueblos  (villages) 
one  having  his  house  burnt  because  he  spoke  of  Jesus 
instead  of  Mary  ;  another  stoned  in  the  plaza  for  not 
taking  off  his  hat  when  the  bell  struck  twelve  o’clock  ; 
a  third  shouted  after  —  ‘Death  to  the  Protestant’  — 
because  he  read  the  Bible  to  his  family  and  others  who 
would  listen  to  him  ;  four  persons,  because  they  pos¬ 
sessed  a  Bible,  leaving  their  homes  at  midnight  under 
cover  of  darkness  to  save  their  lives,  the  priest  having 
said  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  place  had  proved  them¬ 
selves  cowards  for  allowing  such  books  in  their  midst, 
and  tolerating  the  persons  that  had  them.” 

Early  in  1879,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watkins  returned  to 
the  field,  accompanied  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kilbourn,  and 
plans  were  entered  upon  for  enlarging  the  work  ;  but 
before  the  close  of  the  year  Messrs.  Kilbourn  and 
Edwards,  unable  to  work  with  Mr.  Watkins,  who  had 
excited  a  strong  prejudice  against  them,  and  led  them 
to  feel  that  their  usefulness  was  at  an  end,  were  con¬ 
strained  to  resign,  and  Mr.  Watkins  remained  in 
charge  of  the  field.  But  his  course  and  its  results 
were  so  unsatisfactory  to  the  Prudential  Committee, 
that  it  was  felt  necessary  to  relieve  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wat¬ 
kins  of  further  care,  and  to  reconstruct  the  mission  on 
a  wholly  new  basis.  In  the  autumn  of  1881  Mr.  Wat¬ 
kins  was  therefore  asked  to  turn  over  the  work  to  new 
missionaries  upon  their  arrival.  Mr.  Watkins,  how¬ 
ever,  without  consultation  upon  the  matter  with  the 
Prudential  Committee,  entered  into  negotiations  with 


20 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 


the  Southern  Methodists  to  occupy  Guadalajara,  and 
they  made  arrangements  to  do  so.  Their  agent  was 
despatched  to  Guadalajara,  and  their  intentions  made 
public  in  the  community,  and  services  announced. 
About  a  month  after  this,  a  telegram  was  received  by 
the  American  Board,  from  the  superintendent  of  the 
Southern  Methodist  Mission  in  Mexico,  inquiring  if 
the  Board  would  transfer  this  field  to  the  Southern 
Methodists.  They  were  informed  that  the  Board  had 
no  intention  of  abandoning  the  field,  and  could  not  con¬ 
sent  to  any  such  transfer,  but  had  a  missionary  under 
appointment,  and  soon  to  be  on  the  way.  Rev.  Matthew 
A.  Crawford,  the  first  new  missionary  of  the  Board,  ar¬ 
rived  on  the  ground  early  in  18S2.  Later,  Rev.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  John  Howland,  accompanied  by  Miss  Belle 
M.  Haskins,  joined  the  mission,  and  were  followed 
some  time  later  by  Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  M.  Bis- 
sell.  Though  the  results  of  former  labors  in  Guadala¬ 
jara  and  vicinity  were  thus  largely  appropriated  by 
another  society,  the  importance  of  this  part  of  Mexico, 
and  preparations  made  in  former  years  to  occupy  it, 
seemed  to  require  further  efforts  on  the  part  of  the 
American  Board.  These  missionaries  were  accord¬ 
ingly  sent  with  instructions  to  observe  Christian  court¬ 
esy,  and  to  avoid  every  possible  cause  of  offence  in 
doing  their  own  work. 

As  the  new  missionaries  had  to  learn  the  lan^uasre 
and  become  acquainted  with  the  situation,  they  con¬ 
stituted  practically  a  new  mission.  Their  one  aim  is 
to  preach  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  sinners  in  all  gentle¬ 
ness  and  love,  and  to  aid  inquirers  to  a  better  under¬ 
standing  of  the  gospel,  through  expositions  of  the 
Scriptures,  in  preaching,  in  Sabbath-school  labors,  and 


MISSIONS  TO  MEXICO. 


21 


in  private  classes  for  Bible  study  and  instruction  in 
sacred  song.  A  small  weekly  paper  has  been  issued, 
containing  an  exposition  of  the  Sabbath-school  lesson, 
and  a  few  simple  stories  of  moral  and  religious  char¬ 
acter.  Two  churches  have  been  organized,  one  of 
eighteen  members,  on  the  16th  of  December,  1883,  at 
Tlajamulco,  a  village  of  3,000  inhabitants,  about 
twenty  miles  to  the  south  of  Guadalajara;  and  one  of 
fourteen  members  on  the  3d  of  February,  1884,  at 
Guadalajara.  At  the  latter  place  a  meeting  for  women 
has  been  well  sustained,  and  a  Sabbath-school,  with 
fifty  or  more  pupils.  A  similar  work  has  been  in 
progress  at  Tlajamulco.  To  the  east  of  Guadalajara 
a  beginning  has  been  made  at  La  Barca,  a  city  of 
about  12,000  inhabitants,  on  the  eastern  extremity  of 
Lake  Chapala. 

There  is  less  need  for  educational  efforts  in  this  mis¬ 
sion  because  the  government  sustains  schools  of  different 
grades  with  a  fair  measure  of  success,  especially  in  the 
cities  and  larger  towns.  Special  interest  attaches  to 
instruction  given  in  the  Scriptures  to  young  men  who 
go  out  as  Bible  readers  and  colporters.  Miss  Haskins 
has  had  a  school  of  about  twenty  girls,  who  have  given 
her  much  satisfaction.  It  is  believed  that  thorough 
Christian  instruction  of  young  women  will  not  be  with¬ 
out  its  influence  in  their  homes  and  in  the  community. 

In  March,  1885,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bissell  removed  to 
La  Barca.  The  work  is  opening  very  slowly  at  that 
place,  because  of  the  determined  opposition  of  the 
priests  and  the  ignorance  of  the  people  in  regard  to 
the  true  aim  and  purpose  of  the  missionaries.  Time  will 
be  required  to  convince  them  of  the  value  of  a  purer 
faith. 


22 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 


It  is  hoped  that  with  God’s  blessing  upon  quiet  per¬ 
severance  in  well  doing,  churches  may  be  established 
in  due  time,  well  grounded  in  the  faith,  well  instructed 
in  the  duties  and  privileges  of  Christian  life.  A  be¬ 
ginning  has  been  made.  The  churches  already  or¬ 
ganized  had  at  the  close  of  the  year  1885  upwards  of 
sixty  members,  and  twelve  native  agents  in  different 
capacities  were  employed  by  the  mission. 


THE  AUSTRIAN  EMPIRE. 


According  to  the  census  of  1880  this  empire  had  in 
its  nineteen  provinces  a  population  of  37,883,226, 
of  different  races  —  German,  Slavic,  and  Magyar. 
Most  of  the  people  are  professedly  Roman  Catholics, 
though  in  Hungary  there  are  3,215,000  Protestants 
out  of  a  population  of  11,644,574.  In  Bohemia  and 
Moravia,  also,  there  are  some  Protestant  communities, 
and  a  yet  smaller  proportion  of  the  Protestant  element 
is  found  in  German  Austria.  But  the  number  of  truly 
evangelical  and  pious  pastors,  even  among  the  Prot¬ 
estants,  seems  to  be  very  small,  and  they  are  embar¬ 
rassed  by  their  connection  with  state  churches  that 
are  largely  imbued  with  rationalistic  sentiments,  and 
indifferent  or  opposed  to  vital  piety.  Some  foreign 
evangelical  agencies  were  at  work  in  the  empire  prior 
to  the  organization  of  a  mission  by  the  American 
Board,  but  very  inadequate  to  the  needs  of  this  great 
field.  The  Free  Church  of  Scotland  had  established 
stations  for  effort  specially  among  the  Jews,  at  Vienna, 
Pesth,  and  Prague,  and  supported  some  evangelists  ; 
the  United  Presbyterians  of  Scotland  made  grants  in 
aid  to  some  worthy  pastors  and  evangelists  in  northern 
Bohemia;  the  Continental  Society  of  London  aided 
the  Reformed  Church  in  a  few  places  ;  the  Moravian 
Brethren  had  stations  in  the  same  region  ;  and  the 


24 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS, 


American  and  Foreign  Christian  Union  had  been 
represented  for  some  years  in  Hungary  by  a  colporter 
and  a  Bible  woman.  But  with  the  exception  of  the 
northern  parts  of  Bohemia,  missionaries  of  the  Board 
found  a  clear  field. 

The  first  missionary  sent  out  was  a  son  of  Rev.  Dr. 
William  G.  Schauffler,  so  long  and  favorably  known  in 
connection  with  the  missions  in  Turkey,  Rev.  Henry 
A.  Schauffler,  who  had  himself  been  for  several  years 
connected  with  the  Western  Turkey  Mission.  He  em¬ 
barked  from  New  York  with  his  family,  on  his  way  to 
Austria,  May  18,  1872.  Rev.  Edwin  A.  Adams  and 
Rev.  Albert  W.  Clark,  who  had  been  pastors  of 
churches  in  Connecticut,  sailed  from  New  York  with 
their  wives  on  the  5th  of  October  following,  and  on 
the  6th  of  September,  1873,  Rev.  Edwin  C.  Bissell  and 
wife  also  embarked  from  New  York  for  the  Austrian 
field,  Mr.  Bissell  leaving  a  pastorate  at  Winchester, 
Massachusetts. 

It  is  not  often  that  a  mission  is  begun  by  men  of 
such  experience  and  wisdom  in  practical  Christian 
work.  The  field,  however,  was  regarded  as  one  of 
exceptional  difficulty,  and  in  need  of  the  best  men 
to  be  had.  Mr.  Schauffler  fixed  upon  Prague,  in  Bo¬ 
hemia,  as  the  first  place  to  be  occupied,  and  went  there 
in  October,  1872,  where  he  was  joined  on  the  first  of 
November  by  Messrs.  Adams  and  Clark.  The  wel¬ 
come  given  these  missionaries  by  evangelical  agents 
from  abroad,  and  by  a  few  among  the  Protestant  pas¬ 
tors,  was  very  cordial.  Among  these  was  Pastor 
Schubert,  of  the  Reformed  Bohemian  Church,  residing 
at  Krabschitz,  about  fifty  miles  to  the  north  of  Prague, 
where  he  had  established  a  boarding-school  for  young 


THE  AUSTRIAN  EMPIRE. 


25 


women,  building  up  from  small  beginnings  in  humble 
faith  and  hope  an  institution  not  unworthy  to  be  called 
the  “  Mount  Holyoke  ”  of  Bohemia.  Pastor  Schubert 
recognized  from  the  first  the  value  of  the  work  con¬ 
templated  by  the  mission  of  the  Board,  and  was  ever 
ready  to  aid  by  preaching  and  counsel  till  his  greatly 
lamented  death  in  1884.  The  mission  regarded  his 
school  as  such  a  valuable  auxiliary  to  evangelical 
labors  that  grants  in  aid  were  made  to  it  from  year  to 
year,  and  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Schubert  an  arrange¬ 
ment  was  made  to  perpetuate  it  in  connection  with  an 
evangelical  society  in  close  connection  with  the  mis¬ 
sion. 

A  German  Bible  class  was  soon  established  in 
Prague,  a  hall  secured  for  meetings,  and  permission 
obtained  from  the  authorities  to  deliver  lectures  on  the 
Sabbath.  In  December,  1873,  the  first  Bohemian  ser¬ 
vice  was  held  in  the  hall,  Pastor  Schubert  preaching. 
The  number  of  attendants  increased,  until  on  Sabbath 
afternoons  the  hall  was  nearly  filled  with  an  intelligent 
and  attentive  audience,  some,  disgusted  with  infidelity, 
coming  from  the  Reformed  Church,  and  some  from 
among  the  Romanists.  Mrs.  Schauffier  had  also 
gathered  a  small  Sabbath-school  of  Bohemians,  hav¬ 
ing  the  services  of  three  young  ladies  from  Pastor 
Schubert’s  school  as  teachers. 

These  services  were  held  in  both  the  German  and 
Bohemian  languages  ;  but  in  January,  1874,  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  some  objection  on  the  part  of  the  represent¬ 
atives  of  another  society,  the  German  services  that 
had  begun  with  great  promise  were  given  up.  Later 
it  seemed  best  to  Messrs.  Bissell  and  Clark  to  remove 
to  Innsbruck  in  the  Tyrol,  and  for  Mr.  Schauffier  to 


26 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 


go  to  Briinn'  in  Moravia,  leaving  only  Mr.  Adams  in 
Prague.  After  a  year  and  a  half  spent  in  Innsbruck, 
with  little  promise  of  success,  in  consequence  of  the 
intolerance  of  the  authorities  and  the  bigotry  of  the 
people,  Messrs.  Bissell  and  Clark  removed  to  Gratz 
in  Styria,  a  province  of  German  Austria,  not,  however, 
till  hundreds  of  copies  of  the  Scriptures  had  been  put 
in  circulation,  and  some  souls  won,  as  it  is  believed, 
‘to  a  saving  knowledge  of  the  truth. 

The  moral  condition  of  the  population  in  Styria 
may  be  inferred  in  part  from  the  fact  that  in  a  popu¬ 
lation  of  a  million  souls,  there  was  no  store  where 
religious  papers  or  books  were  to  be  had.  The  pre¬ 
vailing  immorality  was  sadly  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  nearly  half  of  the  children  were  illegitimate  ;  while 
nearly  all  intelligent  men,  seeing  the  character  of 
Romanism  and  its  results  on  the  lives  of  believers, 
had  cast  away  all  regard  for  the  truth  and  were 
scoffers  at  religion.  Protestants,  so-called,  were  little 
better  than  the  adherents  of  the  Papal  Church.  The 
missionaries  were  not  allowed  to  hold  public  meetings. 
Permission,  however,  after  a  time  was  obtained  for 
opening  a  bookstore  and  a  reading-room,  where  Chris¬ 
tian  publications  were  to  be  had.  The  most  that 
could  be  done  was  by  conversation  with  a  little  com¬ 
pany  who  came  to  the  missionaries  by  special  invita¬ 
tion  to  hear  the  gospel  from  their  lips.  A  small  com¬ 
pany  of  young  men  met  with  Mr.  Clark  for  the  study 
of  English. 

So  slowly  did  the  work  open  in  Austria,  and  such 
were  the  difficulties  in  the  way,  that  Dr.  Bissell  thought 
it  his  duty  to  return  to  the  United  States  in  1878,  and 
Mr.  Clark  removed  to  Briinn,  where  Mr.  Adams  was  in 


THE  AUSTRIAN  EMPIRE. 


27 


great  need  of  assistance.  Gratz  has  since  been  occu¬ 
pied  by  a  faithful  nativ.e  laborer,  assisted  by  occasional 
visits  from  a  missionary.  Innsbruck  also  has  not  been 
wholly  neglected.  By  this  means  the  work  begun  in 
these  places  has  been  sustained,  though  without  any 
marked  results. 

At  Briinn  the  most  that  could  be  done  was  by  per¬ 
sonal  intercourse  with  a  small  number  of  individual  be¬ 
lievers,  especially  with  a  few  pastors  who  welcomed  the 
counsel  and  aid  of  the  missionaries.  Mrs.  Schauffler 
soon  became  engaged  in  a  valuable  work  among  such 
women  as  she  could  reach.  In  1879  a  home  for  girls 
was  organized,  in  which  young  women  who  had  com¬ 
pleted  their  studies  at  Krabscbitz  were  received  and 
trained  more  especially  for  active  Christian  work,  un¬ 
til  opportunities  might  be  open  for  them  as  teachers,  or 
in  some  other  Christian  service.  In  Briinn  the  opposi¬ 
tion  to  evangelical  efforts  came  quite  as  much  from  the 
Lutherans  as  from  the  Romanists,  both  bodies  being 
recognized  by  the  state.  After  bitter  opposition  by 
local  authorities,  both  civil  and  ecclesiastic,  an  appeal 
was  made  to  the  higher  court  at  Vienna,  and  permission 
secured  to  hold  private  religious  services  for  guests 
formally  invited  on  these  occasions,  under  the  supervis¬ 
ion  of  the  police.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schauffler  were  soon 
busily  engaged.  The  number  of  believers  increased, 
and  an  audience  of  sixty  to  seventy  came  together  on 
the  Sabbath. 

In  1881  Mr.  Schauffler  was  obliged  to  return  to  this 
country  because  of  the  health  of  Mrs.  Schauffler,  and 
two  years  later,  as  there  was  little  hope  of  her  return  to 
Austria,  they  were  formally  released  from  their  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  Board.  They  soon  after  removed  to 


28 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 


Cleveland,  in  connection  with  the  American  Home  Mis¬ 
sionary  Society,  to  labor  among  the  thousands  of  Bohe¬ 
mians  in  that  city.  Not  long  after,  September  4,  1883, 
Mrs.  Schauffler  was  called  to  the  rest  above,  leaving  a 
record  of  rare  devotion  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 

On  leaving  Austria,  after  nine  years  of  varied  and 
often  painful  experience,  Mr.  Schauffler  spoke  as  fol¬ 
lows  of  what  had  been  accomplished :  “  Obstacles 

apparently  insurmountable  overcome,  the  mouths  of 
lions  stopped,  powerful  foes  vanquished  by  a  despised, 
powerless  handful ;  a  goodly  amount  of  religious  free¬ 
dom  for  themselves,  and  all  their  recognized  and  non- 
recognized  brethren,  obtained  by  a  persecuted  little 
band  from  a  ministry  strongly  influenced  by  the  Papal 
power ;  yea,  more  than  this !  the  eyes  of  the  blind 
opened,  and  hard  hearts  won  for  Christ;  slaves  of  sin 
and  superstition  freed  from  cruel  bondage,  and  made 
children  of  God ;  the  difficult  problem  of  church  organ¬ 
ization  solved ;  a  living,  witnessing  church  planted  and 
growing ;  a  leaven  actively  working  among  Catholics 
and  Protestants ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  the  confidence 
of  believing  brethren  in  the  recognized  Protestant 
churches  gained,  and  they  earnestly  engaged,  with  our 
help,  in  efforts  to  awaken  and  cherish  spiritual  life  in 
their  own  churches  ;  surely  these  are  ‘  great  things  ’  for 
which  we  should  ‘  thank  God  and  take  courage. ’  ” 

Prior  to  1S79  the  opposition  to  the  gospel  had 
seemed  to  gain  in  intensity  as  results  of  labor  became 
more  manifest.  At  Prague  every  conceivable  restric¬ 
tion  had  been  imposed  on  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Adams  and 
upon  colporters  and  evangelists.  In  the  out-stations 
Mr.  Adams  was  not  even  permitted  to  hold  private 
meetings  in  his  own  house,  or  to  attend  them  elsewhere. 


THE  AUSTRIAN  EMPIRE. 


29 


To  be  present  at  the  family  prayers  of  his  associate  ex¬ 
posed  him  to  fine  and  imprisonment.  No  one  outside 
of  the  family  could  attend  morning  or  evening  prayers 
at  the  house  of  the  missionary.  Appeals  were  taken 
from  the  action  of  the  local  officers  to  the  higher  offi¬ 
cers  at  Vienna.  Happily  at  this  time  the  Evangelical 
Alliance  held  a  meeting  at  Basle,  where  an  elaborate 
paper  was  presented  by  Rev.  Joseph  P.  Thompson, 
D.D.,  at  the  suggestion  of  our  missionaries,  in  behalf  of 
religious  liberty  in  Austria.  As  a  result  of  these  efforts, 
many  restrictions  were  removed.  The  right  to  hold 
religious  services  in  one’s  own  house  with  invited  guests 
was  fully  conceded,  the  only  exception  relating  to  chil¬ 
dren  between  six  and  fourteen  years  of  age,  who  were 
connected  with  the  state  churches.  The  right  of  hold¬ 
ing  public  meetings  followed,  on  giving  notice  to  the 
authorities,  and  paying  for  the  attendance  of  a  police¬ 
man.  Within  a  year  not  less  than  ten  such  meetings 
were  held  every  week  in  Prague  and  in  its  neighborhood, 
and  a  church  by  the  name  of  the  Free  Reformed  Church 
was  organized  in  Prague,  of  twenty-six  members.  It 
was  not  the  original  intention  of  the  Board  to  institute 
a  new  denomination  in  Austria,  but  rather  to  assist  in 
developing  a  genuine  Christian  life  in  existing  Protest¬ 
ant  communities  ;  but  the  spirit  of  ecclesiasticism  was 
so  strong  that  while  a  few  believing  pastors  would 
gladly  have  received  the  missionaries  and  cooperated 
with  them,  their  relations  to  the  state  organizations 
prevented.  Besides,  the  prevailing  custom  of  receiving 
to  church  membership  on  attaining  a  certain  age,  with¬ 
out  reference  to  a  renewed  life,  made  it  difficult  to  enter 
into  fellowship  with  existing  churches.  After  careful 
consideration  it  seemed  best  to  organize  a  separate 


3° 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 


church,  to  consist  of  believers  only.  This  was  formally 
clone  in  January,  1880. 

From  this  time  on,  the  way  has  been  open  for  a  con¬ 
stantly  growing  work,  and  hardly  a  communion  season 
has  passed  without  additions  on  profession  of  faith  from 
those  formerly  connected  with  the  Roman  Catholic 
church.  As  a  rule  Protestants  coming  from  other 
churches,  are  urged  to  remain,  when  practicable  where 
they  are.  The  missionaries  of  the  American  Board  are 
not  in  Austria  to  proselyte  from  other  Protestant 
churches,  but  to  assist  them  by  the  exhibition  of  a 
simpler  polity  and  better  methods  of  Christian  life  and 
activity. 

This  mission,  already  reduced  by  one  half  of  its 
members,  and  to  a  single  station,  was  brought  to  a  still 
lower  point  by  the  death  of  Mrs.  Clark,  on  the  10th  of 
December,  1881,  and  by  the  return  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Adams  to  the  United  States  in  the  following  June. 
But  the  work  had  been  too  firmly  established  to  be 
seriously  hindered  by  these  untoward  events.  The 
choice  of  Prague  in  the  first  instance  as  a  station  of  the 
Board  was  fully  confirmed,  and  though  it  was  not  prac¬ 
ticable  to  carry  on  operations  on  so  wide  a  scale  as  had 
been  contemplated  at  first,  a  beginning  had  been  made, 
and  illustration  given  of  true  church  life  and  of  self- 
denying  consecration  to  Christ.  The  respect  and  con¬ 
fidence  also  of  the  local  authorities  of  Prague  and  its 
neighborhood  had  been  gained. 

Happily  in  1882  a  young  physician,  who  was  com¬ 
pleting  his  studies  in  Germany,  H.  S.  Pomeroy,  m.d., 
came  to  Prague,  with  his  wife,  and  for  nearly  two  years 
made  a  home  for  Mr.  Clark  in  his  loneliness.  Their 
care  of  him,  while  suffering  in  feeble  health,  and  their 


THE  AUSTRIAN  EMPIRE. 


31 


generous  sympathy  and  cooperation  with  him,  were 
most  timely  and  helpful.  By  the  aid  of  these  efforts  he 
was  enabled  to  extend  his  labors  and  the  supervision 
of  native  agents  to  the  out-stations  of  Prague,  as  well 
as  to  Briinn  in  Moravia,  and  to  Gratz  in  Styria. 

During  the  summer  of  1883  two  of  the  officers  of 
the  Board,  Secretaries  Clark  and  Alden,  on  their  return 
from  a  visit  to  Constantinople,  spent  a  few  days  at 
Prague,  including  one  Sabbath.  They  were  present  at 
the  usual  meetings  of  the  congregation,  and  held  an  in¬ 
teresting  conference  with  the  native  helpers.  They  also 
visited  the  school  of  Pastor  Schubert  at  Krabschitz, 
and  were  greatly  interested  in  that  good  man  and  in 
the  educational  work  he  had  so  happily  built  up.  The 
Secretaries  were  impressed  with  the  healthful  progress 
of  the  evangelistic  work  at  Prague,  and  with  the  zeal 
and  earnestness  of  believers  and  their  eagerness  to 
make  known  the  gospel  to  others.  It  appeared  that 
not  less  than  twenty  meetings,  well-attended,  were  reg¬ 
ularly  held  in  the  city  and  suburbs.  These  neighbor¬ 
hood  meetings  helped  to  widen  the  range  of  Christian 
influence,  and  became  nurseries  of  the  church.  If 
many  individuals  turned  away  from  the  gospel  message 
as  too  exacting,  a  few  here  and  there  were  constantly 
accepting  it. 

The  concession  received  from  the  government  for 
the  formation  of  a  Verein  (Union),  secured  to  the 
church  and  the  evangelical  community  the  recognition 
of  the  law,  and  greatly  opened  the  way  to  further 
privileges. 

On  the  20th  of  March,  1884,  Mr.  Clark  was  married 
to  Miss  Ruth  Pirie,  the  daughter  of  Rev.  James  Pirie, 
of  Prague,  a  missionary  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scot- 


32 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 


land  to  the  Jews.  The  continuance  of  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Pomeroy  for  a  few  months  longer  in  Prague,  enabled 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clark  to  visit  the  United  States  for  a 
brief  furlough,  and  thus  to  secure  to  the  former  a  sea¬ 
son  of  much  needed  rest.  Under  the  care  of  Dr.  Pom¬ 
eroy  schools  and  religious  services  were  kept  up  as 
usual,  and  a  goodly  number  were  added  to  the  church. 
The  monthly  religious  paper,  the  Betaine,  established 
the  year  before,  attained  a  circulation  of  2,000  copies, 
many  of  them  finding  their  way  to  Bohemians  in  Cleve¬ 
land  and  Chicago.  The  circulation  of  Bibles  and  of 
various  religious  publications  has  steadily  increased 
from  the  first,  and  been  a  most  important  agency  in 
awakening  an  interest  in  the  gospel. 

Mr.  Clark  returned  to  his  post  in  October,  and  Dr. 
Pomeroy  removed  to  Leipsic  for  the  further  prosecution 
of  his  medical  studies.  Seldom  in  the  history  of  mis¬ 
sions  has  a  layman  been  able  to  render  more  timely 
and  more  valuable  service  in  the  foreign  field. 

The  Annual  Report  for  the  year  1SS5  shows  the 
steady  advance  of  this  mission,  notwithstanding  many 
hindrances  and  the  great  reduction  of  the  missionary 
staff.  Besides  the  church  in  Prague,  two  others  have 
been  organized,  one  at  Stupitz  and  another  at  Tabor, 
the  three  having  a  membership  of  three  hundred  and 
sixteen.  Mr.  Clark  is  aided  by  six  evangelists  and 
three  colporters,  in  a  work  that  now  extends  to  ten  cen¬ 
ters  outside  of  the  city  of  Prague.  An  evangelist 
bears  witness  to  the  truth  at  Gratz.  The  Home  at 
Briinn  is  preparing  a  small  number  of  girls  and  young 
women,  nine  or  ten  usually  in  attendance,  having  no 
other  home,  to  become  teachers  and  Christian  workers 
among  their  own  people.  An  Orphanage  at  Russitz, 


THE  AUSTRIAN  EMPIRE. 


33 


in  southern  Austria,  established  some  years  since,  by  a 
devoted  Christian  lady,  the  Countess  La  Tour,  which 
had  been  encouraged  by  the  sympathy  and  moral  sup¬ 
port  of  the  missionaries  of  the  Board,  and  by  small 
grants  in  aid  for  several  years,  was  reported  this  year 
as  wholly  supported  by  the  Countess.  This  noble 
woman  deserves  special  consideration  for  her  devotion 
to  the  cause  of  Christ  amidst  the  most  unfavorable  sur¬ 
roundings. 

The  Krabschitz  school  met  with  a  great  loss  in  the 
death  of  its  founder,  Pastor  Schubert,  who  died  in  the 
spring  of  1885,  but  it  was  kept  up  by  Mrs.  Schubert  till  the 
close  of  the  school  year.  The  importance  of  this  insti¬ 
tution,  as  the  only  one  of  its  kind  in  the  empire  to  give 
thorough  evangelical  education  to  young  women,  led 
the  Prudential  Committee  of  the  American  Board  to 
unite  with  other  friends  in  such  a  grant  in  aid  as 
should  secure  its  continuance  on  substantially  the  same 
plan  as  heretofore,  while  at  the  same  time  bringing  it 
into  closer  connection  with  the  mission. 

Intelligence  down  to  the  close  of  the  year  1885  is 
indicative  of  the  growth  of  this  mission  in  the  general 
scope  of  its  influence  on  the  popular  mind  through  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  the  wide  circulation  of  relig¬ 
ious  literature,  and  the  changed  lives  and  character  of 
believers.  Not  the  least  of  the  encouragements  is 
found  in  the  attitude  of  believing  pastors  who  are  gen¬ 
erously  coming  forward  to  aid  in  sustaining  a  school  of 
evangelists  to  be  established  at  Prague.  Indeed,  the 
outlook  wras  never  more  hopeful  than  now  —  January 
1886 — for  a  work  of  great  interest  and  power  in  Aus¬ 
tria.  The  mission  of  the  Board  in  this  empire  is  a  wit¬ 
ness  to  the  truth  and  simplicity  of  the  gospei,  alike  to 


34 


MISSIONS  IN  PAPAL  LANDS. 


Protestants  of  the  state  churches  and  to  Roman  Catho¬ 
lics.  It  makes  but  little  show  amid  the  millions  of  the 
population.  It  is  rather  a  quiet  light,  clear  and  unmis¬ 
takable  in  its  character.  It  has  compelled  the  respect 
and  won  the  esteem  of  truly  evangelical  men  in  the  old 
communities,  and  is  strengthening  their  hands  in  efforts 
to  work  reforms,  and  to  secure  a  living  faith  in  those 
who  bear  the  Christian  name. 


AUSTRIAN  MISSION 

A.B-C.F.M. 


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